How often have you had a zipper break on you right after suiting up?
This has happened three times this year to my wife with three separate O’neill models. It happened this morning and boy is she PI$$ed! She has used BodyGlove suits for years and never once had this problem. However, BodyGlove changed the cut of their suits last year and they don’t fit her properly so, she switched to O’neill which has a much more comfortable cut for her. The problem is the damned zipper keeps breaking. ( I should mention that this has happened with three brand new suits, not the same suit three separate times.) The suit isn’t too small or tight for her and she’s not wrestling with the thing. (She’s been wearing wetsuits her entire life so it’s not an issue of not knowing how to zip it up.) The suit is fitted very well according to several different sales reps. She’s 5’3" and 140 lbs. and the suit is a size 8. The only issue that I can see is that she has very large breasts which may put extra strain on the zipper but the question is, how come it only happens with O’Neill suits? Also, she only buys suits with the super stretch material so that shouldn’t really be an issue.
I’m not female and I do not want to insult your wife.
I had a small zipper problem from another maker and had a crotch repaired. Back when we had a Coral Reef Wetsuit shop in Oceanside the salesman very gently told me that my body shape would cause the crotch to rip. I’m over forty and my gut is too big for the standard 4mm full suit for my height. 5’8" ,185 lbs. The guy had me try on a bigger suit ,took some measurements and two weeks later I had a custom suit fit to my body. I think I paid an extra $30. I’m happy with that. I now need to buy a wetsuit for my 15 year old daughter and she hates wetsuits because it’s so hard to find one that fits right. (No, she does not have a beer gut like her dad).
I’ve never had a zipper break on an O’Neill wetsuit, but plenty on their other products: Back packs, duffel bags, pants, you name it. Usually on wetsuits it’s the tab on the zipper that breaks (sometimes on the zipper or just the tab itself. On the non-wetsuit O’Neill zipper problems I’ve had it’s either the zipper won’t zip anymore or it separates after it’s zipped. On wetsuits, you should lubricate the zipper teeth with a silicone stick periodically. Do this when the suit is clean and dry (no sand!).
Did the zipper teeth separate after the sliders had been pulled all the way up the length of the zipper? If so, the zippers may be faulty and the situation might be addressed by either the manufacturer or retailer. An authorized O’neill dealer usually will handle the details although I’ve run into problems regarding other wetsuit issues.
O’neill used to use YKK zippers with metal sliders and even metal teeth on some models - high end zippers used by many manufacturers of tents, sleeping bags, and luggage. I’m not sure what brand was used on your wife’s suits. The brand is usually stamped on the zipper pull.
The problem may be that in an effort to add a few cents to their profit margin either YKK (if that is the zipper used) or O’neill used some cost cutting measure on your wife’s particular models. You say it happened on three separate models? If they get enough complaints, the zipper issue might be expected to be corrected on the next run.
If after two replacements, the zipper broke again (as it has) I would request that the retailer consider replacing the zipper with a better one (under warranty) or replace the O’neill suit with a different brand if available. Otherwise, I would ask for my money back and buy a different brand elsewhere.
Have you contacted O’Neill directly? (see links below) Have you informed them that you will address this issue on EVERY surf related internet site and EVERY printed surf publication? That might get their attention. Zippers on new suits should not be popping.
Here is a link to Santabarbarasurfing.com articles on wetsuits and O’neill vs RipCurl repair departments. Good luck!
SrPato, Ironically a few weeks ago my girlfriend had a similar experience with an Oneill wetsuit. Actually 2 of the zipper teeth were actually missing. The suit is less than a year old and I was thinking to myself about what poor construction/materials were put into the wetsuit. I was wondering if it happened to anyone else. So I guess you answered that Question SrPato. Did you send it in to get repaired? How long did the turn around take
My experience with RipCurl repair shop is the same as the guy in the link above. I bought an Elasto suit form them a few years back and the outer material kept getting all snagged up. I called them and they said that they have had a problem with the earliest ones doing that and they’ll fix it for me for free. They did. Then a few years later after I had already bought a new Rip Curl suit, I decided I’d send that first Elasto back to them again because some seams in the neck area had split and if fixed I could at least use it as a loaner. Well, seams are warrantied for life so they fixed it for free again. Needless to say, I’m very satisfied with Rip Curl.
My 3 year old Elasto zipper broke last week, teeth fine, the zipper pull broke in half, so still can zip up and down with a pair of pliers and someone to stand behind me…
My 9 Oneill’s, with some as old as 20 years, hae not broken any zippers, and are stiffer, heavier suits.
No boobs, 5’10, 144lbs, size LARGE, so I’m not putting too much stress on the zipper when I zip up.
I don’t know how man O Neil’s I’ve owned in Thirty plus years. For me they fit really good. Quality has always been sketchy. I’ll get one that falls apart in less that a year and vow never again. Then, get one dirt cheap on sale and it gives great service for a couple of years. I don’t know if they are made in different locations with different quality control. I’ve had good success recently with Rip Curl the last 4 to 5 years. Good fit for my body type and a solid year of use surfing 3 plus days a week year round. Still good after that to be cut down into various shorty’s or given away. Mike
For what it’s worth, the zipper broke on the first suit. The last two had missing teeth, almost as if they just popped right out of the material. The odd thing is that the teeth came out of O’Neill’s new re-enforced, heavy duty, red zipper system. Maybe they should go back to original zippers?
Karen is going to contact them this week. I’ll keep Swaylockians posted on what happens next. I have no doubt that they’ll replace the zipper, but hopefully they’ll find a way to re-enforce these things.
FWIW I’ve had numerous O’neill suits and have never had a problem with a zipper. In fact, they’ve held up pretty good aside from minor seam issues and seam tape coming unglued. A pretty common problem with other brands as well. I usually keep a tube of black neoprene rubber cement around and dab as needed.
O’neill suits are innovative with materials and design so occasional goof ups with new stuff seems inevitable.
Sounds like the red zipper may be one of those new innovations that maybe wasn’t fully tested.
My wife use to work for one of the big boy wetsuit manufacturers.
My advice - deal directly with O’Neill. Call them yourself and speak to a live person before sending your suit in. Then send all correspondence and the suit directly to this person. Be clear in your correspondence that your wife is not a kook and has been wearing wetsuits for years and knows how to take care of them. Be clear about exactly what you expect fixed (i.e. completely new zipper, etc.) And make sure you give them several ways to contact you if they have any questions.
Also, you might try asking for the Head Wetsuit Designer rather than asking for the repair department. The reason is the designers hate hearing about suits breaking, and may “care” a little more about correcting the problem than the repair people. And if you can talk to a designer, they may help in getting your repair done quicker. Even if you only talk to the designer for a second and they transfer you to the repair department, it still may help set your problem apart from the other suits waiting to be repaired.
And finally, voice mail is worthless. These guys can get 50 plus phone calls a day. They never check their messages and when they do it is only to delete them. If you don’t speak to someone live, keep trying until you do.
Take it to the Beach House and they will send it back for you No questions asked. Sometimes O’Neil will charge $5.00 or $10 for work done, but in your case it’s usually repair, or replace.